Year 6025 in the Xia calendar
The Huaxia Federation Space Agency launched a highly controversial plan to send a spacecraft into the universe, which had already reached third cosmic speed, meaning theoretically it could leave the solar system.
Yes, under the influence of some mysterious force, the galaxy where this world exists is also called the solar system, Milky Way.
The controversy arose because the spacecraft had five astronauts on board, and their mission was a certain death, as the spacecraft didn’t have enough fuel to return. Even with more fuel, it would only make the spacecraft travel farther.
As for the purpose, it was not very clear. Perhaps it was just to catch a glimpse of the distant starry sky. This caused a great deal of controversy and many protests.
This project started three years ago, sparking dozens of debates. Eventually, a volunteer approach was adopted, and once announced, there were tens of thousands of sign-ups. After several rounds of assessments, only five people were selected: three from the Huaxia Federation, and the other two from Qingyun and Zhou Liao.
The youngest of the five is fifty-five years old. They were among the first astronauts from various countries. Maybe they have many reasons, but they definitely have one reason in common, which is to be remembered in history. Just for this, it is enough for them to be remembered in history.
On the big screen in Lin Jiang’s office, there was an interview program of those five people. The list of their names was announced a year ago, and then they underwent closed training for about a year.
These programs were filmed during their training process, but are only being released now because in three days, the spaceship named Pioneer is going to be launched.
They are heroes, so they are treated like heroes. They are highly esteemed, not to mention the treatment. It can be said that for the next seven or eight generations, they won’t have to worry about their livelihood."Do we have any arrangements for these five people?"
"Yes, among their immediate family members, six have been arranged positions in our subordinate companies with high pay and less work. Combined with benefits from other companies and official treatment, their family members don’t have to worry about anything. They have jumped several social classes."
"This is the reward they deserve. If it were you, would you do the same?"
"Sir, I am an orphan. But if I had a family and good relationships, I would do the same. Many people would do the same. Look at those laborers outside, the vast majority work hard for their families. If it’s just to not go hungry, it would be much easier for them."
The secretary replied, "Just look at the volunteers who signed up. If the criteria were lowered, maybe over a billion people would sign up. Many are willing to sacrifice themselves for their families."
The fact is very tough. Many people do dangerous jobs to support their families, even though they could die anytime. But they get paid much less than they deserve, sometimes even just a tiny fraction.
"Yes, you’re right. This way I can feel more at ease, even though I didn’t suggest it."
Lin Jiang nodded. This matter had nothing to do with him, but it wasn’t like he didn’t care at all. The plan was proposed by a senior official from the space agency, a person Lin Jiang had recommended.
This person was a talent, bold and passionate about the space industry. Compared to the other conservative and dull senior officials, Lin Jiang clearly preferred this kind of person.
"Sir, don’t feel guilty. People die every day in this world, a lot of people, all facing the same fate. There’s no difference."
"Got it. Turn off the TV. Is there anything I need to take care of today?"
"We’ve finished most tasks, sir. You just need to look over them. But there’s one interesting thing that maybe you should handle."
"What thing?"
"Sir, do you remember a few months ago when something interesting was found at a construction site in the Yuji Province near Zhou Liao?"
"Just say it."
"Yes, the things unearthed in Yuanji Province. At first, Zhou Liao was promoting it widely, though not mentioning specifics. It was known that prehistoric items were discovered, hinting that Zhou Liao’s ancestors might have a connection to Qingyun and Huaxia’s ancestors. They even invited top experts from Qingyun and Huaxia to help out.
But about two weeks ago, when their archaeological work was at a crucial stage, Zhou Liao suddenly stopped all activities. Not only did they stop promoting, they also erased all previous promotions. Experts from Qingyun and Huaxia, including us, were sent back."
"Do you know what they unearthed?"
"Yes, it’s five stone coffins containing the remains of five prehistoric people. The experts who went saw them but were not allowed to document. They sketched the faces of the five people when they came back. This is the portrait."
The secretary opened a folder containing all the information. Lin Jiang saw the portraits of the five people, recognizing them as cultivators, though unfamiliar to him.
"Open Zhou Liao’s map."
"Yes, sir."
Soon, Zhou Liao’s map appeared on the large screen. Lin Jiang compared it and identified the location of the Wangxian Sect.
"Not Li Qing, someone else."
Lin Jiang rubbed his head. As the immortal cultivation era was coming to an end, Li Yuncheng asked Lin Jiang to return to the Wangxian Sect and pass on the secret technique of deep sleep to Li Qing. It seemed that Li Qing was also in a deep sleep, along with a group of people.
"Li Qing must hate me a lot."
Lin Jiang thought to himself, in the end he did something quite extreme. Many disciples of the Wangxian Sect were taken away by him to sleep, but Li Qing and her group were excluded.
During the invasion of the demon tribe, Li Qing went against his wishes. Although Lin Jiang didn’t say anything afterwards, they no longer felt close to each other. He even took back items like the Breaking Array Cone that he had given to her.
"Sir…"
"Pay close attention to this matter, don’t act on anything else for now."
Lin Jiang said, he was not afraid of any enemies. He had a great advantage now, even if Li Qing and the others all woke up, he was not worried. If the spiritual energy recovered, he was even less afraid, because he would have more people by his side.
·····
Three days later, Lin Jiang was watching the live broadcast of the launch of the Pioneer spaceship. There were experts in the broadcast explaining the advanced technology of the spaceship. It was considered the best and most advanced with a cost exceeding fifty billion Huaxia Federation coins.
It is worth mentioning that the currency of the Huaxia Federation is currently the strongest in the world, equivalent to the currency on Blue Star called "knife music."
"The experts mentioned ‘artificial intelligence.’ Is it really that powerful?"
"Sir, that expert was exaggerating. Several developed countries are researching artificial intelligence, especially some who want to surpass Huaxia. That’s why Huaxia is also intensifying its research. The actual technology is not as good as claimed, otherwise they wouldn’t need live crew on board. Using artificial intelligence to control a few robots would be sufficient."
The secretary relayed Lin Jiang’s words to the think tank, and they quickly replied that artificial intelligence was just starting out and there were some achievements in the past few years. However, it was mostly limited to skills like drawing and still far from what people imagine artificial intelligence to be.
"Send more people to focus on artificial intelligence. If there are any breakthroughs, I want to be the first to know."
"Yes, sir. Should we increase the investment?"
"Yes, add a bit. Increase the annual budget by one hundred billion."
Lin Jiang nodded. He had a lot of money now, investing in various ways. He had dozens of research institutes, investing trillions each year. He even had over a dozen charity organizations under his name.
But the money never runs out, it simply never runs out. The speed of wealth growth every year is very scary. This is why Lin Jiang used many identities, like controlling puppets, to share the burden. If all the wealth were concentrated on just him, that would be too terrifying.
"Boom"
While they were talking, they saw on TV that the Pioneer spacecraft had been launched, of course, now it was being sent into space by a rocket.
Since it had already been launched, the situation was already set, unable to be changed anymore. Lin Jiang watched the reactions and evaluations from all sides for a while, finding it very interesting.